In honor of Bostonâ€™s "New World" past and in recognition of its central role in what WilliamBoelhower has called the "new Atlantic studies matrix," the 2009 Symbiosis conferencecommittee is delighted to invite participation in a three-day conference, "Boston and the NewAtlantic World." Aiming to capitalize on the tremendous wealth of current scholarship ontransatlantic subjects as well as to work on bridging the disciplinary gap between scholars ofAtlantic literature and history, this conference will gather participants on the Suffolk Universitycampus on Bostonâ€™s Beacon Hill, within striking distance of the Freedom Trail, the Black HeritageTrail, the Boston Athenaeum, the Museum of African American History, and other sites of greatAtlantic significance.

We invite proposals for panels and individual papers that engage a variety of transatlantic and/ortransnational topics in the literatures and cultural histories of the Atlantic world. Papers thattreat Boston as a site of Atlantic cultural exchange are especially welcome, although theconference is certainly not limited to local concerns. Submissions are encouraged from scholarsof literary history from the early modern period to the present. Possible topics for panels and/orpapers might include the following: